From the blurb: “A new book delves into history and looks at the benefits and consequences of waiting: “Delayed Response: The Art of Waiting from the Ancient to the Instant World” by Professor Jason Farman, says speed can stifle innovation and creativity because people don’t take the time to think. He joined the Knowledge@Wharton show on SiriusXM to explain why good things come to those who wait.” In itself not a new topic for us here at the still web, but the historical perspective of this book seemed interesting. The author seems to suggest the ‘busy-ness affliction’ of today is not that new. And if you want to read a longer article on the book The Atlantic obliges The tyranny of ‘sorry for my delay’
You can listen to the interview with the author at the site, or just read an edited transcript. Then you can decide if you want to pause your life to read the whole book. The author concludes,
Sometimes, I feel very powerless to do anything about that news. We are presented with this information all day long. What do we do with it? What are we supposed to do with the knowledge we get on Google or the news that we get through the radio or in the newspaper or on Twitter? I don’t think we are giving ourselves enough time to answer that question. We don’t know what to do with it, so we just keep being pulled into this future, feeling like we don’t have a sense of agency over how to change things, how to intervene. I think about the emotional toll of being connected always and not being able to sit with something for a moment to think — what do I do with this? […] The pauses are really essential for us to have a sense of emotional well-being, and [to feel] that we can actually do something with this knowledge.
Today, will you find the longest queue at the supermarket and practice the art of waiting as essential, rather than time wasting?
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This Daily Stillness has been recycled from previously published ones:
• #tds1286 The pause is essential for wellbeing (Jan 6, 2019)
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